3. Dave Dombrowski acknowledges that the Phillies bullpen needs an overhaul.
"“We need multiple people out there to try to help us.” – Dave Dombrowski"
Everyone in Major League Baseball knew just how historically bad the Phillies’ bullpen was in the 2020 season. So much so, it could have contributed to the early retirement of pitching coach Bryan Price, who was recently replaced by Caleb Cotham from the Cincinnati Reds’ organization.
“It was, by no means, a strength of the organization,” new Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Friday. “I guess the good part of it is, that usually if there’s an area that you can fix — that somebody comes through in the short-term — it’s the bullpen.”
The 2020 Phillies bullpen finished with a combined 7.06 ERA — the second-highest since earned runs were tracked in 1912-13, reports MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. The highest bullpen ERA was none other than the 1930 Phillies: 8.16.
Dombrowski said the Phillies need “multiple people out there” to try to help them. “We have some young arms that are developing that may fit out there. We’re going to try,” he said. “I know that just last year, they didn’t have much luck in anything they did.”
The longtime executive recalled the August trade in which the Phillies dealt Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold to his former team in the Boston Red Sox for Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman — two relievers who were on his most recent 2018 World Series championship team.
“They made that deal with the Red Sox that didn’t work out,” added Dombrowski, who continued in saying the Phillies will be in a position this offseason where he is sure they will be “very aggressive in adding arms.”
Dombrowski believes the Phillies will be an attractive destination for free-agent relievers. “If you are a reliever and you have a choice of A or B, and A has a pretty good bullpen and B is us and not good, well hopefully people are choosing us, because there’s an opportunity here,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we’re aggressive. I know there are a lot of relievers out there.”